Intuition
by nostalgia-z
Summary: She would worry about her children no matter what; it was practically her job. In which Maddie worries, Danny gets hurt, and they have a talk. T for mild mention of injury. (Maddie knows Danny's secret but Jack doesn't.)
**Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to** **Butch Hartman**

It had been a relatively slow night at Fenton Works, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, Maddie finally had some time away from ghost hunting. She loved her job, but it did live up to its name and was a very demanding one, and lately she didn't seem to have the stamina to keep it up. Jack was going to a ghost convention early the next morning, so she was expecting him to come upstairs from the lab at any moment and head upstairs to bed.

She was taking a well-deserved break upstairs and was drinking some sweet iced tea, which was the only thing in the refrigerator she could find that wasn't completely contaminated with ectoplasm. She took another sip of the sugary drink (the tea had extra sugar in it-that was the way Jack like it) and grimaced as she heard loud, heavy footsteps coming from the basement. Don't get her wrong, she loves her husband dearly, but she had been running solely on tasteless coffee and the occasional half granola bar she could scarf down for the past few days - she had also been developing a headache all day, probably due to being awake for a few days in a row.

"Mads! Maddie I did it! The latest Fenton invention is finally done!" Jack held up the device for dramatic effect before he thunked it on the kitchen table, Maddie's iced tea sloshing dangerously close to the top of the glass.

"See Maddie? I fixed the ecto-reactors here and here", he said, pointing to two metal prongs protruding from the base of the device, "and I finally stabilized the ectoplasmic concentration stored in the sides so the-" he stopped abruptly and looked at his wife in concern. "You alright honey?" He put a hand on her back and she smiled tiredly. Her husband could be oblivious, and must people just thought of his as an ignorant overweight man – she was glad she looked past what other people said about him and got to meet him herself, he cared so immensely for her and the kids.

"I'm fine Jack, just tired." He looked at her knowingly and smiled softly as stretched.

"We both need more sleep," he murmured, "I should be heading to bed now if I want to wake up bright and early to head to the convention! Thanks for reminding me, Maddie, without you I don't think I would even remember to eat!" he said, his usual boisterous voice returning.

Maddie laughed at that, "You overestimate me," she said before kissing his cheek, " _You_ need to go to sleep, and _I_ need to wait for Danny and Jazz to get home so _I_ can go to sleep."

"Alright Mads, if you don't come upstairs in the next hour, I'll assume you got abducted by a ghost! Or that _ghost kid_ …" he muttered darkly as an afterthought, his face momentarily darkening but brightened again almost as quickly as he bid his wife a goodnight and started up the stairs.

As soon as Maddie heard the master bedroom door close, she sighed heavily and picked up the invention Jack had left discarded on the table, and dumped the remainder of her iced tea down the sink. She looked at the clock – it was 10:07, Danny was late for his curfew. _Again._

As Maddie absentmindedly tinkered with the invention she thought about her son – she had discovered his secret around two weeks ago and she was trying her best not to become over protective, but it was hard knowing he was putting his life on the line every day. He had begged her not to tell Jack, and the raw fear in his eyes had chilled her to her very core, so she promised not to tell Jack. She also figured it was the least she could do considering all the times she had threatened and shot at him in the past. She had to appease her guilt somehow, and she loved her kids so much, she wanted them to be able to trust her. Ever since she learned about Danny she had tried her absolute hardest not to become too overbearing, but she couldn't help getting worried. It was already fifteen minutes past his curfew – no matter how many times he assured her he was fine and he knew what he was doing (which she didn't doubt) – she still worried. But she would worry about her children anyway, no matter what they were doing; it was her job.

Just as she was setting her glass in the sink, she heard the front door open. She heard the front door closing, and as she turned off the sink she called, "Hi, Sweetie!" She didn't hear a response so she called out again. "Danny?" Growing concerned, she finished drying off her hands and walked towards the couch in the living room. Danny's head was down and he seemed to be heaving for breath, and she could faintly see that his hand was pressed against his side.

"Danny?" she tried again, and he looked up through some hairs over his eyes, a strained smile on his face.

"Sorry Mom, I just needed to catch my breath." He dropped his hand from his side, Maddie noticed.

He noticed her stressed look and immediately said, "I'll be fine, Mom, just out of breath."

She took note that he was trying not to allow his pain to show, but she hated seeing him trying to cover it up. She already knew what he was doing, she could help with the pain – she was a ghost hunter too, she knew a few things about first aid.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright Danny?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm _fine_ I jus-" he was interrupted by a hacking coughing fit, and he put his hand over his mouth, but when he removed it there was blood on his hand.

"Daniel James Fenton!" Maddie cried.

Danny winced as his mother grabbed him by the arm and practically drug him into the lab. "Sit." She said, pointing to a chair near the counter. She rustled around in the cabinets until she found the First Aid kits and a bottle of ibuprofen and set them on the counter next to her son. They were both silent, but the room was still tense. Why did he always have to be so strong? He was still a kid, only _fourteen_ for God's sake, he didn't need to carry the world on his shoulders. Danny didn't like seeing his mother upset and Maddie didn't like seeing her son hurt, it wasn't the best combination, both trying to protect the other.

"Take off your shirt." She commanded, and he sighed as he removed his t-shirt.

She looked at him closely for a moment before noticing a large deep purple bruise covering almost the entire left side of his torso. She didn't say a word as she carefully brushed her hand over the wound. Danny immediately hissed and his face contorted into a pained expression, his body tensing, but he didn't cry out.

"Who was it this time?" she asked suddenly as she shook a few pills out of the bottle.

Danny looked up, seeming surprised by the question. "Oh, um, just Skulker." He said, "For the thousandth time this week," he muttered under his breath.

"Take these," she said, handing him a paper cup of water and two pills, her voice softer than it had been a few minutes ago.

Maddie watched as Danny swallowed the pills and she took the cup for him and threw it in the trash can. She grabbed some antiseptic and tended to a minor cut on his shoulder.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I'm a freak?" he asked, his voice suddenly small and scared.

Maddie blinked in surprise and stopped dabbing the disinfectant and looked up at her son. His blue eyes were wide and he looked the most vulnerable she had seen him in a long time.

"Why would you ask something like that? Of course not." She said quickly, shaking her head from the absurdity of the question.

"I was just wondering." He mumbled, not sounding convinced. His eyes were dull and tired, she noticed, and his cheeks were sunken in. She could tell he hadn't been getting much sleep, and clearly hadn't been eating all that much either.

"Are you mad about the portal?" he asked.

Maddie stopped and looked him in the eyes, "Danny what's wrong? Why are you asking me all of this?"

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, he looked conflicted and tired far beyond his years. He took in a sharp breath. "I don't know. I just feel like a lot of people hate me." He admitted. "People love me as Phantom but they hate me as Fenton…I don't see why it should make a difference." He laughed humorlessly, bitterness creeping into his voice. "I'm the same person, but people seem to appreciate me more when I'm _dead."_

Maddie's heart ached as she watched his angry face crumple in distress; her maternal instincts kicking in full force, and she pulled him into a tight hug, stroking his hair. She rubbed his back as he continued to cry, stammering apologies. He wiped his eyes feverishly and sniffed, willing himself to stop the tears; to stop embarrassing himself in front of his mother. Reduced to tears, because of _this._

"Danny," Maddie said seriously, turning his head to look at her, "You are _not_ a freak, you're my _son_ and you mean the world to me. I am so proud of you," she said sincerely, and Danny's face broke out into a huge smile, tears still damp on his cheeks and his eyes still tired, but he was so starved of parental appreciation and _acknowledgement_ that his mother saying something as simple as that made his heart swell with pride. She was _proud_ of him.

"I will love you no matter what," she said and he pulled her into a crushing hug.

Maddie heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and saw the lumbering form of her husband appear at the bottom of the staircase. He was holding the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick and his eyes were narrowed and he was in some sort of battle stance. Then she remembered, he said if she wasn't upstairs in the next hour, he would assume she was captured by a ghost.

Danny pulled away from his mother and Jack jumped, holding the stick out towards the source of the noise. "I've gotcha now ya spook!" he cried, but then he noticed who it was.

"Danny? Maddie? What are you doing down here?"

Danny looked down and Maddie gave Jack an I'll-tell-you-later look and he understood. "Ah well, I guess it doesn't matter. What does matter is that we all get some fudge and head to bed!" he announced.

Maddie gave Jack a scolding look. "Jack, how many times have I told you not to eat fudge before going to bed?"

Jack looked at her guiltily and she just laughed. They all headed upstairs and Danny said goodnight to them both until heading into his room and softly closing the door.

"He's been having a hard time." Maddie said, trying to hide her concern from her husband.

He put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Maddie. He's a Fenton." He said, grinning.

"Us Fentons always push through."

 **So yeah, super cheesy ending to go with a super cheesy story, but I needed some tooth-rotting fluff, and I'm always a sucker for family stuff like that, or any kind of parental interaction. I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **-nostalgia-z**


End file.
